BEA slips past 2Q estimates

BEA Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: BEAS) edged past analyst estimates in the second quarter.

In second quarter results released after market close Tuesday, the maker of software for integrating and overseeing corporate applications posted net income of almost $6 million, or 7 cents per share on a pro forma basis and excluding acquisition-related costs. First Call's survey of nine analysts predicted a per-share profit of 12 analysts predicted per-share earnings of 6 cents for the quarter ended July 31.

Second quarter revenues rose to $103.2 million, a 53 percent improvement from $67.6 million in the year ago period, when BEA earned $5.4 million, or 4 cents per share. E-commerce projects generated more than half of license revenue, the company said. "We had record hiring, record bookings, and impressive successes in head-to-head competition," said Bill Coleman, chairman and CEO.

BEA recorded several second quarter expenses related to previous acquisitions. Including the effects of goodwill writedowns, in-process R&D writeoffs and other merger-related costs, the company lost almost $2.1 million, or 3 cents per share.

Shares of BEA fell 1 3/4 to 24 1/2 in regular trading prior to the earnings report. Of a dozen analysts surveyed by Zack's Investment Research, six rate BEA the equivalent of a "moderate buy", four maintain "strong buy" ratings on the stock, and two have it as a "hold".>